When Eden Hazard secured his dream move to Real Madrid from Chelsea in the summer of 2019, it looked like a match made in heaven. The Belgian was at the top of his game at that time and seemed the perfect fit to lead the Merengues in a post- Cristiano Ronaldo era.
However, over three years into his stint at the Santiago Bernabeu and it would be safe to say that the Belgian international has been a huge dud. Fitness problems, unrelenting injury issues and poor form shot his confidence and rendered him a pale shadow of his former self.
Struggling for relevance, Hazard has been linked with an exit from Real Madrid for a while now, but has remained at the club despite his struggles to live up to the expectations.
Indeed, Mario Cortegana of MARCA reports that Real Madrid have made attempts to find an exit for Hazard in each of the last three transfer windows. The Spanish and European champions have looked at different formulae to get him off the books as his contract runs until 2024.
However, in spite of that, Hazard has always prioritised staying at the club even though he has found it hard to get going.
The primary reason for the Belgian international’s desire to stay put at the Santiago Bernabeu is that he wants to achieve success with Real Madrid. While he has won trophies and titles, Hazard has not made huge contributions to those triumphs, something he wishes to change.
The second reason why Hazard does not wish to leave the Merengues is that his family are settled down well in the city of Madrid.
Finally, another major reason for the former Chelsea superstar to not consider leaving is that he has not found any serious takers who appeal to him, be it from a sporting or an economic perspective.
Things could change for the Belgian international though after he made a big impression against Celtic earlier this week. After coming on to replace the injured Karim Benzema, Hazard had a hand in Real Madrid’s first two goals of the game before scoring the third himself.
With Benzema sidelined for the next few matches, Hazard will get regular opportunities to impress and it will be up to him to make the most of these chances.